Pass Audit vs HashiCorp Vault
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted password managers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Pass Audit
Security auditing extension for the pass manager
VS
HashiCorp Vault
Secrets management and data protection for infrastructure
| Feature | Pass Audit | HashiCorp Vault |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Password Managers | Password Managers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BUSL-1.1 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 104 | ★ 36,086 |
| First released | 2018 | 2015 |
| Replaces | 1Password Watchtower, Bitwarden Reports | AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault |
Why pick each one
Choose Pass Audit if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Choose HashiCorp Vault if…
- Industry standard for secrets
- Powerful policy engine
Frequently asked questions
Is Pass Audit or HashiCorp Vault better?
Neither is universally better. HashiCorp Vault has the larger community, while Pass Audit is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pass Audit and HashiCorp Vault free and open-source?
Yes. Pass Audit is licensed under GPL-3.0 and HashiCorp Vault under BUSL-1.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pass Audit and HashiCorp Vault with Docker?
Pass Audit: check the project docs for container support. HashiCorp Vault: yes.